The bastards here would put the Cards on NBC, even if there was an NHL playoff game on in that time slot. Then they'd move the hockey game to some bullshit non-HD channel. Fuck boring ass baseball. Keep it on the radio.

Good point on viewing distance. Here's the scoop. We bought a 1940 Cape Cod style house, so typical room size is smaller than what some of you guys may have. Due to the room config, there's basically 2 places for a TV to go: over the fireplace, or in a corner between 2 windows. Personally, I think the central location of the fireplace would squash up the TV viewing too much. We have the current set between the windows, with 52" of space from window frame to window frame. A 46-47" set would be about the max, without looking like it's just jammed the fuck in between the windows.

From the likely screen surface, it's abut 12-15' to our seating area. (The TV in the armoire is out a bit more, so it's 10-13', but the LCD would be back farther.) When we have people over, say, for Steelers games, we do have additional a la carte seating. Grab a chair and huddle round. Most of those seats are in the 4-6' range. My sense is that the 4' range might blur a bit, but back around 6' you'd probably be OK. Certainly no more than the 46" for that close. And at the back of the room, I think anything less than a 46", you might be OK, but I think 46" would be better.

Trying to think which ones we saw at Costco. Sony Bravia was one and it did look good. Still pissed over a Sony TV prior to the current one that died about a day after the 1-year warranty was up. I saw Samsung was also at the Costco site and rated well at Amazon. A bit leery of Vizio and other lesser-known brands. IIRC, the Phillips HDTVS at Costco just didn't look quite as sharp.

Bottom line is, I don't care about getting some huge assed screen to impress anyone. I just figure that the time is good for me to upgrade, and we can certainly bump the size up from what we have now. Hopefully enhance the ol' Steelers experience. Plus, we've always used the TV speakers, as Mrs. F. is sensitive to louder volume. But I figure that for movies and games, if I'm upgrading everything else, I may as well get a basic satellite speaker system.

Get an LCD with the 120 Hertz refresh rate, that helps with the motion blur. That gave the Sony and Samsung the nod over the others with only a 65 Hertz refresh rate.

Also, your room viewing distance is definitely suited for a 52.

« Last Edit: Jun 06, 2008 at 09:13 by vinman3 »

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It's a hot night. The mind races. You think about your knife; the only friend who hasn't betrayed you, the only friend who won't be dead by sun up. Sleep tight, mates, in your quilted Chambray nightshirts.

I purchased a 46" Sony Bravia XBR. The great thing about it is I got it off ebay for about $1200 less than the actual retail. Prior to getting this TV I also had a 32" Sony Bravia. Maybe I'm a Sony homer but IMO they make the best product.

Plus, we've always used the TV speakers, as Mrs. F. is sensitive to louder volume. But I figure that for movies and games, if I'm upgrading everything else, I may as well get a basic satellite speaker system.

Often the sound on these TVs is pretty shitty. No one is buying them for the sound and most people add their own sound system. Some hardly have any volume at all. I'd check that, just so the Mrs. doesn't have to fire up the home theatre just to have enough volume to hear it.

The higher refresh rate might be a good idea with the LCD. I have the lower rate, but my set is a projection. I've got no blur, but my buddy also has a projection and his had the blur.

When you get it narrowed down, search this site and read up about pros & cons.

Thanks for the input guys, and keep it coming. 52" won't work, it's just not going to fit the space. Hell, we did pretty well with that 32"er, so the difference between 46" and 52"? [*Shrugs*]

IMO, Sony is off the table. Sorry, but I do hold grudges. We actually paid a couple hundred in repair charges before figuring it was a lost cause, so close to a grand for a year of TV viewing? Fuck that. I realize that shit happens, but I'd be super pissed if I got another Sony and the same damned thing happened...

As for the sound system, something just OK will be fine for me. At my age, I can only hear sounds in the 10,000 -10,001 Hz range anyway, so you might as well jus tap out Morse code with the silverware... Some basic system will be fine for me.

We'll pass on the Playstation, vin. See "codgy old timer" rant above.

It's interesting to me in the scant research I have done how much these TVs change even over the course of one year, in terms of definition, refresh, price... Now looking at the series 5, 6 and 7 models, and thinking the 6 might be best for me.

Get an LCD with the 120 Hertz refresh rate, that helps with the motion blur. That gave the Sony and Samsung the nod over the others with only a 65 Hertz refresh rate.

Also, your room viewing distance is definitely suited for a 52.

A lot of the blur Vin and Otis are talking about are from the projection LCD's that were 1080i instead of 1080p. The 1080p's and the refresh rate Vin is talking about really eliminate the blur issue on sets from a few years ago.

If you viewing distance is 12-15 feet, you definitely want to be in that 52" to 56" range. at 12' 52" would be a good size. at 15' 56"would be better. If you are spending the money, don't skimp, go with something where you will be able to actually see the football during a play, the puck in hockey, or the ball while watching tennis. A friend just finished his basement, and the distance is in that same 12-15 foot range and he has a 44". What an aboslute waste of money, finishing the basement, then having a really undersized TV. The NBA playoffs had just started and I was almost squinting to distinguish certain players. Is it better than a 32"? Yes, but why even bother. I also have to say that I am not a proponent of having a TV so big you'll go blind from watching it. Too big is worse, especially if your LCD is going to be a a flat panel. Regardless, from that distance, I think you want to start at 52", IMO.

My TV is a projection, and my kids sit on the floor about 5 feet from it, which would make me go blind, and it is all the same to them.

Let us know what you get and what you think after it is up and running.

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Looks like you've been missing a lot of work lately. I wouldn't say I've been *missing* it, Bob.